A “cleantech” business cluster project in Austria, an urban development eco project with the participation of eight EU member states, a project providing support services to older people in five member states, a project creating a sustainable environment for a depressed city district in Sweden and an informative web-page in Poland were the 2012 “RegioStars” winners.
The European Commission awarded the five prizes in a special event in Brussels last Thursday.
As EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johanes Hahn said, “we repeatedly stress the importance of investing in dynamic and innovative sectors, like research and development infrastructure and energy efficiency, so Europe can keep making the difference in a more and more globalised economy”.
This year’s winners, he noted, “are model projects in low-carbon economy, climate change adaptation and combating marginalisation, all with the aim of improving the quality of citizens lives”.
The five projects were selected from a total of more than 350 EU funded applicants by a jury headed by Luc van den Brande, Special Advisor to Commissioner Hahn and former Head of the EU Committee of Regions. Initially a list of 24 finalists was announced and then the jury decided on the five best.
Each project corresponded to a specific category, namely: smart growth, sustainable growth, inclusive growth, CityStar integrated strategies for the development of deprived urban areas and information and communication.
In Cyprus, projects which have been funded by the EU regional policy include the reviving of the tourist mountainous village of Kalopanagiotis, a two year project promoting female entrepreneurship, upgrading the Limassol bypass, renovating an abandoned old people’s home in old Nicosia and turning it into a social and cultural services centre as well as projects restoring the urban fabric in the “Phaneromeni” and “Omeriye” areas situated in the walled city of Nicosia.
Journalists from all over Europe were given the opportunity to be present at the “RegioStars” award ceremony as part of a seminar organised by the European Journalism Centre.
Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, is due to take over the EU Council rotating presidency over from Denmark on July 1.